In short
Monaco Grand Prix review focused on Kimi Antonelli’s dominant win, the chaos/dnfs, and what it means for the championship—plus separate discussion of Mercedes teammate struggles (George Russell), Ferrari’s mixed fortunes (Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc), and other key drivers (Max Verstappen, McLaren, Isaac Hadjar).
Guests
Laura Winter (F1 TV lead presenter) and Lawrence Barreto (F1 correspondent). They discuss race events and driver psychology/strategy.
Key claims
Antonelli was “fearless/peerless,” handling pressure including safety car restarts and two standing starts to win his fifth straight GP and extend his lead to 66 points. Russell was “bamboozled,” struggling despite no confirmed car issue, possibly due to overthinking after bad luck. Hamilton is “back” at Ferrari, enjoying F1 again and climbing to P2 in the championship. Leclerc’s brake problem forced overdriving; he crashed twice and hit the wall in qualifying. Hadjar showed composure for his first Red Bull podium despite relentless team radio stress.
Notable examples
Norris and Leclerc DNFs; Leclerc’s wall hits; Russell’s “bamboozled” comments; Hamilton’s back-to-back P2s; Hadjar’s early crash and radio volume; McLaren reliability issues (Norris DNF, energy store change).
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOKimi Antonelli's Impressive Win
0:00 to 0:22
Discussing Kimi Antonelli's remarkable performance at the Monaco GP.
“Turn your everyday errands into cash back opportunities.”
Kimi Antonelli's Impressive Win
1:03 to 2:32
Discussing Kimi Antonelli's remarkable performance at the Monaco GP.
“Kimi Antonelli wins the Monaco Grand Prix.”
Race Highlights and Key Moments
2:48 to 3:30
Analyzing the highlights and key moments from the Monaco Grand Prix.
“Ludicrous, I think, was my initial reaction.”
Kimi's Fearlessness and Pressure Management
3:30 to 5:28
Exploring Kimi's fearless attitude and how he managed race pressures.
“I think every driver I talked to in the TV pen, there was something to talk to them about.”
Kimi's Development as a Driver
5:28 to 7:30
Examining Kimi's growth and adaptation in his second season.
“There's just this fearlessness to him, this youthful exuberance that is wonderful.”
Comparing Kimi and George's Performances
7:30 to 8:20
Contrasting the performances of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.
“And he has a brilliant group of people around him.”
Generational Talent Debate
8:20 to 12:20
Discussing the implications of Kimi's talent and potential future.
“And I take your point that he was doing things around the streets of Monaco that, you know, we've seen Charles Leclerc do in the past and the legends and the greats do.”
George Russell's Struggles in Monaco
14:00 to 16:41
Explore George Russell's challenges and mental state during the Monaco GP.
“The contrast from one side of the Mercedes garage to the other couldn't be more extreme than it is right now.”
Pressure of Competition and Contract Dynamics
16:41 to 19:31
Discussion on the pressures George Russell faces regarding his contract and competition with Max Verstappen.
“When they are pushing and fighting for tenths and milliseconds, they think, I need to push harder in the car and therefore overdrive and then ultimately go slower.”
Lewis Hamilton's Resurgence
19:31 to 22:32
Analysis of Lewis Hamilton's performance and confidence returning this season.
“He's said he's intending to stay in Formula One.”
Show all 21 chapters
Hamilton's Environment and Team Dynamics
22:32 to 26:31
Insight into the role of team dynamics in Hamilton's successful comeback.
“Let's have one more weekend before we completely rule him out.”
Ferrari's Performance Issues
26:31 to 28:00
Examining Ferrari's struggles during the Monaco GP and their inability to compete.
“I don't know if it was the same with you this weekend on F1 TV, but certainly in every press conference, he started after qualifying and after the race to say, I am so enjoying being back here.”
Analyzing Ferrari's Qualifying Struggles
28:00 to 34:16
Explore the challenges faced by Ferrari and Charles Leclerc during qualifying.
“the lack of power that they struggle with would be less of a pain here.”
Isak Hadjar's Impressive Weekend
35:51 to 42:00
Discuss Isak Hadjar's performance and his handling of challenges in the race.
“racing bulls drivers walk past us drenched they've been in the pool isaac hadjar is behind us with his trophy, having his picture taken.”
McLaren's Challenges at Monaco
42:00 to 43:28
Discussion on McLaren's performance and reliability issues during the Monaco GP.
Lando Norris: The World Champion's Mindset
43:29 to 45:18
Exploring Lando Norris's demeanor and motivation after becoming a world champion.
“Because Norris parked up in FP2, didn't he?”
Future Potential of Lando Norris
45:19 to 47:14
Examining how Lando's world champion status may impact his future performance.
“I have questioned, generally, as I've sat at home watching with my baby, the mentality to come back after doing just that.”
Driver of the Day Contenders
47:15 to 48:22
Identifying standout drivers from the Monaco GP and their performances.
“And we've got hungry drivers who want to kind of stamp their authority on it.”
Kimi Antonelli's Historic Win
48:23 to 50:25
Celebrating Kimi Antonelli's remarkable performance and historical win in Monaco.
“Is it one of the people lower down in the points or is it perhaps someone we've been eulogising about?”
Analyzing Other Impressive Performances
50:26 to 53:31
Discussing notable performances from various drivers in the Monaco GP.
“Let's now each name a driver who impressed us who's not Kimi Antonelli.”
Las Vegas: The Future of F1 Racing
53:32 to 55:12
Announcing the extension of F1 racing in Las Vegas and its significance.
“Before we go, while we've had a great weekend of drama on the streets of Monaco, we've also had the very exciting news that we're going to continue racing at another street circuit for a long, long time to come.”
Transcript
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1:03Kimi Antonelli wins the Monaco Grand Prix. The teenager can't stop winning in Formula One. That's five in a row.
1:13Lawrence Barretto:Get in there, Kimi. That was a fast to the classmate. First Monaco win. Woo-hoo! George tried to play some mind games with him coming into the weekend. Kimi handled that really well. The records keep on coming, and I think you can't deny that when you are looking at the words like generational talent. Fearless and peerless. I can't think of two other words to describe him. It's very hard for George not to feel victimised by the bad luck that he's had. I worry that George is one of these drivers that overthinks things. This was supposed to be his opportunity, and I wonder how much that is sitting in his head.
1:48He used the word bamboozled, didn't he? It's a very George Russell word. I do enjoy that. Lewis Hamilton with back-to-back second places. He likes to say, I need to remind myself of who I am. And it feels like he now knows exactly who he is. Oh, but into the wall and out of the race, Charles Leclerc. There's a sort of hero or zero nature to him, certainly here. It's misery or magic, isn't it? A late red flag gave us big drama at the end of the Monaco Grand Prix. But Kimi Antonelli overcame all the chaos and kept his cool to secure his fifth Grand Prix victory in a row and extend his championship lead to a huge 66 points.
2:32Welcome, everyone, to F1 Nation. I'm Tom Clarkson and joining me in the Monte Carlo paddock is F1 TV lead presenter Laura Winter and F1 correspondent Lawrence Barreto. First up, Laura, welcome back to the show. How are you doing? Thank you very much. I'm excellent after that one. That was just ridiculous. Ludicrous, I think, was my initial reaction. That's the word I used in the show. Just what was going on? Major DNFs for the likes of Norris, Leclerc on home soil yet again. You've got Kimi's otherworldliness around the hardest racetrack there is. And then it just was ridiculous, wasn't it? From start to finish.
3:12And we expect Monaco to be somewhat of a procession at times. and the race can kind of not live up to the qualifying hype the day before, but we got a bit of everything this weekend. It was kind of peak Monaco all weekend, I felt, Lawrence. I mean, what was the headline for you after this one?
3:27Lawrence Barretto:I think the headline was that there were so many stories to tell from a Monaco Grand Prix. I think every driver I talked to in the TV pen, there was something to talk to them about. They didn't have an anonymous race because, to Laura's point, they were affected by something, whether that was a penalty or they had an overtake or they were able to make progress. in the race. So for me, the highlight, I guess, ultimately, was Kimi Antonelli stamping his authority at a track where I think we used to talk about only the greats win at Monaco. And I think for Kimi to have done it and in such commanding fashion was astonishing.
4:01Well, he's now the youngest driver in F1 history to take a grand slam, right? And he's done it at Monaco. I mean, what have we learned about Kimi Antonelli this weekend that we didn't already know? I used the word fearless earlier. I think we felt he was fearless in Canada, that he was driving without fear, with complete abandon, that he just was behind the car and he would put it in places it shouldn't be. He'd skittle over the grass and still try and get the overtake done against his teammates, sometimes against team orders almost. He'd argue the point on the radio. But then to come to Monaco, where the pressure mounts here in a different way to put in that lap in qualifying in the manner in which we saw him do.
4:47And then today, I think you can so easily say Monaco is a race that can be won. If you're on pole, well, obviously you're going to win. And look, the pole to win ratio is much higher here by virtue of it being so hard to overtake on. But he had to absorb so much pressure. He had a safety car restart. He had a second standing start. Firstly, against a four-time world champion who ultimately didn't get off the line. I felt a bit short-changed after that. I'm quite glad we got a second one. And that was against a seven-time world champion and a man whose seat at Mercedes he took on. And he absorbed all of it, pulled out a five-second gap on Lewis in the final few laps and pumped in the fastest lap of the Grand Prix as well.
5:27Even Bono's trying to hold him back. There's just this fearlessness to him, this youthful exuberance that is wonderful. But it's such a stark contrast to the Kimi we saw this time last year who embarked on a run of races in which he scored three points in nine races. He came to the media pen in Belgium in tears. He looked absolutely gutted at times last season and there were questions around his contract. And the Kimi we're seeing now is wildly different to that.
5:56Lawrence Barretto:I think it helps that he's got a good car and I think that puts him out of a lot of the difficult positions he was finding himself in last year. But there were two things that really impressed me here. It was A, George tried to play some mind games with him coming into the weekend saying the pressure is all on Kimi and I think Kimi handled that really well. You know, to Laura's point, this is only his second season. He doesn't really have this kind of experience of the big boys maybe trying to put pressure on him and I think he handled that really well. And then the other one was that Friday was a difficult day for them.
6:22Lawrence Barretto:Like they were nowhere with the balance. They didn't really understand why the car was going in slow corners and the rear was stepping out. And then we went into Saturday and it was Kimi who had unlocked the potential of this Mercedes and George hadn't. And that should be the opposite way round in theory if you look at the core paperwork and the stats and stuff. And I think for Kimi to be able to kind of recover through a weekend at a European race where he struggled at last year, I think is significant. I asked Toto actually about where this version of Kimi that we're seeing is coming from, where this another planet level is coming from that we're seeing.
6:59And I mentioned his age and I mentioned last season and he said he thinks actually it is his age. That is one of the reasons why he is able to drive. so freely. It's an advantage. And I think it can be both a disadvantage and inexperience, but that inexperience in itself means you're not weighed down by expectation. You're not weighed down by, oh God, two years ago here, I did this and this, and oh, I'm expecting to do this. And I've got these habits that now I need to fit into this new car. It seems that actually his age means he doesn't have those fears. He doesn't have the hangups. He doesn't have the monkey on his back in any sense.
7:30He's just able to drive so freely. And he has a brilliant group of people around him. I think that's crucial, right? Nurture from the start. I think paternal is the word I'd use to describe his relationship with Toto. And of course, his old man Marco is there as well. He's just, I mean, fearless. Fearless and peerless. I can't think of sort of two other words to describe him. His peak was higher this weekend than I was expecting. How about you guys?
8:00Lawrence Barretto:No, I don't think so. Because I think the form that he showed up until this point. He was pulling. He was pulling. a second and a half per lap over the field at some point. But I think what we've seen in the last four races was enough to suggest this was coming. Like, I just think that what he's done in China and Japan and Miami and Canada, I think we almost forget it how good that was because he's gone and done it again. And I take your point that he was doing things around the streets of Monaco that, you know, we've seen Charles Leclerc do in the past and the legends and the greats do. But I'm not surprised because I felt that it was coming.
8:32Lawrence Barretto:I mean, I think he's shown enough of what he's done so far this year to show that it was possible. And I really think that when he came into this weekend and he heard George say, you know, like, oh, it's his to lose, he would have thought, actually, no, I don't think it is. And that probably drove him on even more this weekend. I think it probably was that fire, extra fire that you need around here where you go into this trance and then you're able to deliver the kind of qualifying lap that he was able to do yesterday and the race performance today. and I thought he handled Bono's telling him to slow down very well because he ignored him, but then did what he was told initially.
9:09Lawrence Barretto:And I think he's learning all this. We're seeing someone learn in the limelight, aren't we? And I think that's quite an exciting prospect going forward. Is it too early to say we're looking at a generational talent? I don't think so. It's so easy to say because last year, we had Oscar Piastri winning that world title, didn't we? then Lando Norris had won it, then Max Verstappen almost won it. The swings that we saw last season mean I think we can never quite rest on our laurels. And I think to your point before about his peak being higher, when you see this level of brilliance, you're almost expecting, you know, he's got to drop the level at some point.
9:48He can't continue at this high level. We saw Kimi last year, obviously, with very up and down performances. So you sort of expect this will be the weekend where perhaps things don't quite go his way. but we're not seeing that certainly at the moment everything that we are seeing indicates that he is the generational talent that Toto has believed in from the very very beginning and that so many questions I think I would say my myself included last season whether it was just too soon for him and he is firmly answering every critic of his rookie season yeah I don't think it's too
10:22Lawrence Barretto:soon um I'm on the hype train because I think that we've seen so many different circuits now and so many different pressure points from the way he handles a race weekend to the way that he handles George's pressure on him to the way that when McLaren was strong in that Miami phase of the weekend, he handled that really well to the pressure that he handled when Toto was tough on him. I think he's just, everything that anyone throws at him, he doesn't seem phased this year. And I think with that in mind and that he's going up against someone, we can't forget George Russell is a very good racer driver.
10:54Lawrence Barretto:He was probably in the top three, if not top two drivers on pure quality last year so we can't forget that and he hasn't suddenly got worse overnight so i actually think the more significant thing is that he's doing it to george and we all thought george was that overwhelming favorite i think coming into this year i think he thought it was as well and i think the job that he's doing against him is probably what really marks him out as a generational talent after what six races of this campaign do you know Even if Kimi Antonelli doesn't win this world championship, I've seen enough. I've seen enough to believe that he is a generational talent.
11:31Lawrence Barretto:Yeah, I'd agree with that. But I think then there is that caveat of we thought that Oscar was on course to win the title last year. Then he had that really difficult spot. And then McLaren didn't have a good car this year. And now it's the question of, well, where does Oscar stack up in this pecking order that we've got? So I think that it's, I think you're right that I think he's a generational talent. but I think it will be particularly tough on Kimi because of the things we've just described. He's a family person. Having people around him is important. Emotionally, I think it will be quite tough for him if he builds this massive lead and he loses it.
12:03Lawrence Barretto:I'm not saying he is going to. I'm just saying if that happens, then I think it will be actually extra tough on him because of his personality. So then maybe if he comes out the other side, yeah, he's even more of a generational talent than we thought he was right now. I think also he's making history at every turn, right? The youngest to lead the World Championship, the youngest to ever win in Monaco, the only teenager to ever win in Monaco. He's equaled Lewis's record of five consecutive wins with Mercedes now. He's the first driver in history to win his first five consecutively. The records keep on coming.
12:34And I think you can't deny that when you are looking at the words like generational talent. This episode is sponsored by Indeed. You just realised your business needed to hire someone yesterday. So how do you find the right candidate fast, easy? you use Indeed. Instead of your job posts getting buried in a sea of listings, Indeed Sponsored Jobs helps you stand out and hire faster. Your listing jumps to the top of search results so the right candidates see it first. And it really works. According to Indeed data, Sponsored Jobs posted directly on Indeed get 45 % more applications than non-sponsored jobs.
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14:03The contrast from one side of the Mercedes garage to the other couldn't be more extreme than it is right now. I mean, first of all, let's talk about the problems George Russell had over this Monaco Grand Prix weekend it felt like he just lacked confidence was there more to it than that was there just confirmed to us Lawrence that there wasn't a car issue it was it was much more subtle
14:28Lawrence Barretto:than that it must have been more subtle than that because I think George hasn't mentioned a car issue hasn't said that there was anything wrong with what he had as package he's actually just saying that he doesn't understand why it's going wrong which is it's a more confusion rather than there's something certainly wrong. I think what I feel for George is that I think he thought he came back here, heading into the European season when Kimi had struggled so much. This would probably be the start of maybe that run. They were going to head to Spain, a more conventional track cross here, Silverstone.
14:58Lawrence Barretto:He'd build the momentum back, you know, 16, 17 races to go. And that hasn't happened. And I think what would have been a bit of a sucker punch is from Friday into Saturday, when the team made all these changes to the balance of the car, they got it performing, they made it much softer, basically, over the bumps they could they could attack it Kimmy could do that and George couldn't and I think that would that would hurt him because I think he's trying to do all the right things and it's not it's not making sense and I think that's why he's so annoyed he said in the TV pen if I was making the mistakes or I knew what was wrong this is fine because it's just annoying bad luck whatever but he's he's not doing any of that and he's still struggling and I think that's what's hurting him at the minute and why it's so confusing he used the word bamboozled didn't he it's a very George Russell word I do enjoy that I worry that George is one of these people one of these drivers that overthinks things and I'm taken back to something Damon Hill said to me once which was you drive at your best when you're not thinking about it when it all just comes completely naturally and that makes me think about Kimi Antonelli his age, fearless and I think the more it's becoming hard for George the more he then becomes more introverted and and is looking for answers the whole time you're then thinking about what you're doing in the car he's he's saying he's gonna have to change his driving style to suit these 2026 cars and i just worry that it's just actually gonna spiral and get worse and worse and worse if anything he needs to do the opposite stop thinking about it and just revert back to the the carting george russell age 15 who just went out there and did it and let marcus your engineer sort out the car?
16:40Drivers overdrive, don't they? When they are pushing and fighting for tenths and milliseconds, they think, I need to push harder in the car and therefore overdrive and then ultimately go slower. You so often hear that. And interestingly, Damon said to us as well yesterday, he said that when he got pole around here, he barely felt like he was driving. It came so naturally. It was so much an extension of himself that he wasn't pushing in any sense. We were comparing him to Charles Leclerc, who ended up in the wall twice this weekend. But it's that kind of feeling, isn't it? And so if George now is going to be in his head, which of course he is, and it's very hard, and you used the word victimised, or sorry, Greg used the word victimised.
17:20Our other colleague with F1 on the website who it's very hard for George not to feel victimised by the bad luck that he's had, safety car, timing in Japan, and then Canada, a DNF, that all begins to mount up. and then suddenly you're looking at 68 points in two Grand Prix, almost three Grand Prix behind Kimi.
17:43Lawrence Barretto:The overthinking thing makes me think of Daniel Ricciardo. When he was at Renault and he was at McLaren and he was an overthinker and he would just get himself in a muddle on a Friday when he would go down various paths and then he would get confused and then another race weekend was gone and it happened and it spiraled at McLaren. And so I think George has got to be really cognizant of that. I think he's got to really understand that he can't allow himself to go down that path. And what I feel particularly for George is he's done everything right in his career. Like he delivered everything he needed to at Williams.
18:17Lawrence Barretto:He's come to Mercedes and outperformed Lewis Hamilton. You know, the greatest driver that's ever driven for that team, possibly even the sport. And then this was supposed to be his opportunity. And I wonder how much that is sitting in his head. And he knows all too well how things can spiral. And if you don't take your one shot, this might be it. Like George Russell might lose the title this year and never win the title. Are you putting pressure, even more pressure on George Russell? Well, probably by sideways. Yes, I am. But I'm not intentionally trying to do that. It's just the reality of the situation.
18:49I mean, both of you, where does he go from here? There's a question of the contract as well. No, because so much of last season, the beginning of this season was, will Max Verstappen go to Mercedes? and George was having to refute that time and time again last year and actually said, well, if Max does come to Mercedes, it won't be me who leaves. I remember him saying that. I think it was Silverstone. He was very clear on that. They then both got contracts for the year and Mercedes have set out their stall and he comes into this year as the favourite, naturally, as the more experienced driver. But there'll be caveats to that contract.
19:23There'll be clauses that will enable both to get out and Max Verstappen, we're sitting on the Red Bull Energy Station, but he may well be questioning his future at Red Bull. He's said he's intending to stay in Formula One. He's repeated he wants to stay at Red Bull, but if Mercedes come with him with too good enough for to miss in a car that is that good, is he going to turn them down? And then where does George Russell go? Are we talking about George Russell not just race to race, losing out to his teammate, but actually his career and his trajectory and his future, possibly. Do you think Max Verstappen is on the phone to Toto Wolff about a Mercedes seat next year?
20:06Do you remember there was that very public display in Canada of Joss Verstappen sitting with Toto Wolff outside the Mercedes hospitality area so that we could all see? Ostensibly to talk about the Nürburgring 24 hours, but I'm sure there was more to it than that.
20:23Lawrence Barretto:But there was also the shots of Max walking down the pit lane with Toto before the race, I remember. So they're smart people. And to be honest, if they want to talk, they're definitely not going to do their talking in front of us. Do I think he's on the phone to Toto? No. But do I think that they are both casually going to talk about it over the course of the year, like they probably have done for several years? Yeah, of course I think they're going to do that. Because Max ultimately wants to be in a position to fight for wins. His initial radio response today, when he obviously didn't get off the line, he was furious not directly at what the team had done but furious at the fact that he didn't get the shot of fighting for the win and I think he thought he could have won this race so I think ultimately that's all that Max really cares about and to Laura's point if Mercedes have got the best car why on earth would he not back himself to beat Kimi because I think we both well all three of us know Max Verstappen believes he can beat anybody so he would love and relish the opportunity to go against Kimi but isn't that the crucial point if you're Toto Wolff why would you put Kimi up against Max Verstappen?
21:21It's a generational talent versus a generational talent. I mean, it's the fight we want to see. The Hulkbuster, please. Yeah, that's in a prost territory. No, you're right. Is that an intra-teammate rivalry one step too far?
21:33Lawrence Barretto:I still think Max is the one that got away from Toto. I just don't think he could let go of that. I just feel like he would want it. But hasn't he got his own Max now in Kimi? Which is great. And Kimi could be around for the next 15 years, 20 years. Who knows? But what's the harm in putting him up against Max for a couple of years? I mean, it's just cinema, wouldn't it? It would be box office, wouldn't it? Yeah. But returning to the point, I think Laura's right that it's got to be in George's mind, right? It's got to be in his mind that last year he backed himself to keep the seat over Kimmy. This year, how on earth can you replace a driver that's won five races on the row, has built up a championship lead like that?
22:09Lawrence Barretto:George will know that. That's just reality, isn't it? So that's going to only add more pressure to him. But then the caveat is we are about to go to a racetrack in Barcelona, which is the most conventional of them all. And that might be what George needs. He might just need to go to a normal racetrack, have a normal setup from the start of the weekend and build through a weekend and have one good result to stop the rot. That might just be what he needs. So I'm going to say one more. Let's have one more weekend before we completely rule him out. Well, what about Ferrari? it was definitely a game of two halves for them.
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22:45Let's deal with Lewis Hamilton first, his second consecutive second place. He's now got a little bit of momentum inside that team. He does. And isn't it lovely to see? I think everybody, whether you're a Lewis fan or not, nobody likes to see a great driver struggling in the manner that we saw Lewis struggling last season. And you would have, in that media pen, had many an interview in which you were getting precisely nothing from him. That's a tough one. Because he was emotional and he was sick of it and he was done and he was unhappy and so many people were questioning should he retire, could he retire, is this the end for Lewis Hamilton and I just feel like a career like Lewis's for it to peter out to complete nothing at the end of last season in a car that he couldn't get on with would have just been awful, wouldn't it?
23:36So it is wonderful to see that he kind of feels like he's back to sort of the Lewis of old or perhaps a new era for Lewis Hamilton but that he's hustling, he's pushing, there's energy in his voice when he's on the radio, he wants more and more he's hungry, he has a hunger even at this stage in his career and it's amazing to see it gives Ferrari a bit of a problem Lewis Hamilton's now P2 in the championship he's ahead of his team mate Charles Leclerc he's been ahead of him the last two weekends and he's now in the ascendancy I feel Lewis Hamilton is enjoying Formula 1 more this year than he has any time since 21 probably pre-Abu Dabi obviously but but I feel you look at the body language of the car you look at his answers the energy you talk about Laura it's the happiest I've seen him in a work environment for a good five years.
24:26Lawrence Barretto:Oh I'd agree with that I think 2021 was the last time we saw that kind of Lewis I think the hybrid turbo era from 2022 onwards killed Lewis in a way because Mercedes couldn't develop a car that suited him or gave him the one to go and fight at the front of it permanently. I think that what has impressed me most this year is Lewis talks about building this team around him. He's got a race engineer in Carlo Santi that he clearly loves and has this like, what did he describe him? It's like a Bono, Italian Bono. Like he has that kind of relationship that he needs. But today said something in the pen where he said that he was fighting Fred all year long I need this in the car I need that in the car I need to do this I need to do that and he was like Fred had to push really hard like we know how hard I think Ferrari can be to maybe change the way they normally do things and that's probably been their Achilles heel over the last what two decades while they wait for a world championship so I think it's significant that Fred has been able to push through whatever these things are that is making Lewis more comfortable and Lewis has been a pains to at least say that today.
25:28Lawrence Barretto:And I think when he's got that environment around him, A, he's got somebody who's fighting for him again, fighting for what he wants and believes in him. And in Fred, it's kind of like a father figure again, I think, because Fred really, really believes that Lewis has still got what it takes. And I think that he's been able to do that. He's got the race engineer that he likes, and he's now got a car that he's fed into. Of course, the results help, and the reg change has helped Ferrari move up the pack. But I think that's really helped him remind himself that he can do it, and then he feels more comfortable in the environment, which means that we get Lewis Hamilton performances that we've had this weekend in Monaco.
26:00He likes to say, I need to remind myself of who I am, doesn't he? He needs to remind himself that he is Lewis Hamilton and I've seen clips of fans saying that to him, remember who you are, and he really needed that last year and it feels like he now knows exactly who he is and he's Lewis Hamilton, he's back. Again, it's been two races. I think, you know, we tend to swing, don't we, when we talk about drivers, if they're on a good run but it's been two great race weekends for him I mean, generally, there's been a massive upward trend all season. And he uses every opportunity to remind us how much he's loving it.
26:32I don't know if it was the same with you this weekend on F1 TV, but certainly in every press conference, he started after qualifying and after the race to say, I am so enjoying being back here. I'm loving it. It's such a privilege to be racing in front of this crowd. He's at that level of enjoying it.
26:52Lawrence Barretto:Because I think people are starting to rhyme off, and that irritates him because I think he believes that he's got what it takes and I don't think he likes it when people, where maybe he perceives, they don't have all the information and then are just making random comments about his ability. And so I think he has made a conscious effort, particularly in Canada and into this weekend, of saying, I'm here to stay in Canada, he said, you know, I'm not going anywhere, you can't retire me. And then here, talking about how much he loves it, because I think he just wants to remind everyone publicly, maybe he wants to remind everyone within the team as well, you know, how much he's loving it.
27:24Lawrence Barretto:and also the rivals, that he won't be pushed around. And I think we saw that great battle he had with Max in Canada. That was the first time in ages we've seen him kind of battle a contemporary. All of these things are adding up, right, to making him a stronger proposition. And Lewis is very good at mind games in a positive way, right? He understands that it's the whole package that you need to deliver, and that's what he's doing right now. Talking of the package, why couldn't Ferrari take the fight to Mercedes? Because I think coming into the weekend, we all thought they were favourites. and yet they never turned it on?
27:56Lawrence Barretto:That is a good question. I think they felt coming into this weekend, the lack of power that they struggle with would be less of a pain here. I don't think they thought they would be the best, but I think they thought that they could be the best in qualifying, which obviously would unlock the potential in the race. I think what they just didn't do as well was they didn't react as well overnight from Friday into Saturday. I think they started with a good baseline car, which is why they were strong in FP1 and FP2. Mercedes started on the back foot. just made that bigger step than Ferrari were made, were able to over into Saturday.
28:29Lawrence Barretto:And obviously once qualifying's lost, it's over. Let's not forget, Charles was on course to take pole, maybe if he hadn't binned it at Tabac. He was green and purple, wasn't he? Exactly. And then actually we could be talking about a completely different thing today, couldn't we? Because if he had started on pole, probably would have won the race. And then we would have talked about something completely different. So, well, as long as the brakes weren't a problem, I guess. I think the argument with Leclerc, the guys we're making on our post-show and post-quality show, is if he's having to drive the car in a manner in which he's hitting the wall twice in qualifying, then he's overdriving it, is he not?
29:06He's needing to push beyond the limit to get a potential pole position out of it. Do you see what I mean? Yeah. But we know that that's how Charles drives. He always has. He's such a one-lap specialist. he's brilliant but it feels like there's a sort of hero or zero nature to him certainly here it's misery or magic isn't it and and coming into this weekend after a disappointing canadian grand prix for sure worst ever weekend in ferrari colors he said yeah so you know that he must have been on an emotional roller coaster because he has he has the montreal worst weekend in formland he then signs his new contract with ferrari so you've got the low of Montreal, the high of the new contract, and kind of where was it going to go from there?
29:52And I think on Friday night, we were all thinking, OK, I can't wait to see Charles Leclerc do his thing in qualifying. And then, as you say, he then hits the wall twice. Brake issues was something that plagued him for most of the weekend.
30:03Lawrence Barretto:So he actually said in the TV pen, he had a bit of a dilemma coming into this weekend in that he knew that there was a problem with the brakes. There was a fix, but he didn't want to enter the Monaco Grand Prix weekend with a fix. so he opted to stick with the original brake setup that he's got. And I think he hoped that the specialty that he's kind of built up with this place would be enough to carry him through. But to Laura's point and the boys on the show, it forced him into overdriving it that milli percent of what it would be and that was what caused the problem. So I think positively it just means that he is going to be able to go to Spain with a fix.
30:39Lawrence Barretto:so I think he's hopeful that when he gets to Spain it won't be so much of a problem He said after the race that I'm going to do what Lewis is doing with the brakes which strikes me as a good thing to do because Lewis has always been really good on the brakes so he's been one of his fortes as a racing driver But I think we can't forget that up until the point in which he struggled in Canada Charles was having a good season so I can understand why you might not want to make a change for it and naturally converge on what your teammates are doing I think what is key now is he's realised that reasonably quickly and is going to move back to a spot where hopefully that will give him that comfort and then we could have a really cool Titanic battle between them But that would be an intra-team battle because do we think Ferrari have the pace to take it to Mercedes?
31:25I mean in the Constructors' Championship Mercedes are now on 244 points Ferrari on 165 in P2 I think it feels to me the fight is more for P2 so the fight is more can Ferrari better McLaren or are McLaren the closest threat it feels to me we're seeing Mercedes do what McLaren did last season and they will just move steadily firmly very quickly away from the rest of the field and that fight for P2 will be on between Ferrari and McLaren. Before we move on from Shell I'd love to get both of your thoughts on why you think he's extended with Ferrari and why now? It wasn't like it was up for renewal at the end of this year.
32:08So why the need to do it now?
32:12Lawrence Barretto:Well, I think the driving market is going to go into flux in the next couple of years. I think what is interesting is that Charles has built up this love affair with Ferrari. I think he wants to win a world championship with them. and I think by signing this commitment early doors, he is committing to them in the hope that they commit to him and hopefully generate and reinvigorate the team around him in the future. The contract, as I understand it, ran up until the end of 2027. This one takes him until the end of 2029. If you look at McLaren, they're reasonably set. If you look at Red Bull, they're reasonably set with the junior family that they've got.
32:50Lawrence Barretto:And if you look at Mercedes, we've talked about Max already. He's not going to get in there. So what other options did he have? There was some chatter about Aston Martin, but Aston Martin are on the back. So that's just not an option for the foreseeable future. So I think the best thing for him to do would be to take a better deal, kind of nail his colours to the mast, and try and remind the team that this is what he came here for. This is what he wants to do with Ferrari. And he wants to win the World Championship with them. And I don't actually think they need that because I think they love it at Ferrari.
33:21Lawrence Barretto:But I think it was significant for him to sign this deal, get in early and then he doesn't have to think or talk about it now for the foreseeable and let's not forget Formula One driver contracts can get out of them so if he really needs to he can get out of it but I think it's a really good statement of intent to do that deal yeah I agree with Lawrence I think we don't know the other options he had it doesn't sound like he had any option that was as good as Ferrari and so he he is Ferrari's man it would be such a pull for him to leave. It would feel such an odd time at the start of a new era of regs for him to start making moves elsewhere.
34:00I don't know, I see your point that his contract wasn't really particularly up for renewal and so, yeah, I think the option isn't elsewhere so you can't foresee what's going to happen in the future and stick with what you've got. Stick or twist and he's stuck. This episode is sponsored by Salie. One thing I've learned from travelling around the world with this show is that the first few minutes after you land are often the most important. You're checking directions, looking up transport, finding hotel details, messaging family back home to let them know you've arrived safely, and all of that depends on having a reliable data connection straight away.
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35:51well we're sat on the red bull energy station uh the music is pumping um we've just seen the two racing bulls drivers walk past us drenched they've been in the pool isaac hadjar is behind us with his trophy, having his picture taken. I mean, it was a pretty immense weekend for Isak. He was having problems with that car and he kept a pretty cool head to get his first podium for the team.
36:18Lawrence Barretto:Yeah, I think there are multiple things this weekend that's impressed me. The first one was when he crashed early in the weekend. Normally, you tend to spiral as a young driver and Isak didn't. He got back on track and I remember talking to Paul Monaghan after FP2 on Friday and he was like, But that thing really surprised him in the way that Izak was able to go back on track and get that confidence back quite quickly. Yeah, I think he was about a second off the ultimate pace, but he was still back up to where a Red Bull should be. And ultimately, that's all Red Bull really want is the second seat to do that.
36:48Lawrence Barretto:And then today, I know he seemed pretty irritated throughout the race. Number of team radios. I imagine the team are probably going to ask him to curb some of those because it was pretty relentless, wasn't it, through the race. but I think it shows how much of an opportunity he saw today. I think he sensed the opportunity to get a podium. He kind of managed all of those issues that he had today really impressively in a way that we haven't seen the driver in the second seat at Red Bull do very often over the last couple of years and he's had a lot of bad luck this year. He started P3 in Australia, should have probably fought for a podium there.
37:23Lawrence Barretto:He's had some unreliability as well and so it hasn't really gone his way but again he hasn't let that phase him and that's why I think Red Bull were so keen to promote him into this seat and why I think they thought he would be different and I think on the evidence of today alone or this weekend at least as a whole I think he's shown that he's had a few retirements this season already hasn't he when you look at his results but he mentioned the drivability of the car didn't he and he said on the radio at the end why do we make this so difficult for ourselves but to your point about um the team radio we know that that's what Isaac Hadja has in the locker he can get vocal on the radio we saw it in F2 and in previous seasons in sport categories but he's driving around Monaco and he might get a P3 and the car is giving up on him and not giving him the power he wants you cannot blame the guy for getting a bit stressed and a bit emotional at times for that and I think the team did such a brilliant job of handling that as well saying we are working on a fix we haven't got it get your head down that you're still in this.
38:25You're still in this. And obviously he also had, I don't know how much, how aware he was actually of the red flag infringement hanging over him and the safety car investigation hanging over him as well. But cool head right to the end and crossing the line, obviously behind Gasly, but knowing that that penalty was there. What a result.
38:43Lawrence Barretto:I think it will always be okay if you do those radio messages and you don't make mistakes. And I think to that point, he didn't do that today, did he? He didn't let it get to him. He didn't let the red mist descend. So I think so long as he always delivers results, the team won't be that frustrated with him. I guess it's only if it ever gets to a point where it boils over that it will become a problem. But yeah, I think you put it well, Laura, like he smashed it. He feels more and more convincing as a Red Bull driver almost by the race. But then I also talked to someone earlier who reminded me that obviously this is a more drivable Red Bull.
39:14Lawrence Barretto:So I think that it's not so obvious when you're just a little bit off. I think that last year the field was much more compressed. So the smallest mistake would knock you out early doors in qualifying. You'd be down out of the top 10. Whereas this year the field is a bit more spread. And so it hides out. Look, that's not taking anything away from Izzak. I think he's doing a phenomenal job. But I think that he does have that fortune this year. And he's making the most of it. Well, look, what about Max Verstappen? without the car problems, could he have taken the fight to Kimi Antonelli or do you think Antonelli was just gone?
39:52Lawrence Barretto:That's a good question. I think because it's Max Verstappen, he could have taken the fight to him. I don't know how that would have materialised, whether that would have been 30 or 40 laps of relentless pressure and maybe Kimi would have held on, maybe would have held on in the way that he did in Miami against Lando. But I think that we were robbed of it and we'll never know. But I think the fact that Max was so irritated on Team Radio Straight it afterwards, the way he was so disappointed in the TV pen makes me think that maybe he could have done, but then it's so hard to pass in Monaco, isn't it?
40:21Lawrence Barretto:It's so hard to make something happen. I remember Jolian said in comms quite early on he was like, I think we might get some overtaking in this race. I love Jolian's optimism. He was really invested in this Rascas line and then we kept going through it lap after lap and he was going I don't think the Rascas line is giving as much opportunity as I What did he mean about the Rascast line? What, two different lines through there? He thought there was a line through in which you could get an overtake done. That was where he saw a primary overtaking spot. If you weren't to get it done at the start, or of course you weren't to do it on strategy, and I think Kimi Antonelli's, if you are going to mark his homework and go through his season, his starts have been the primary concern.
41:06They obviously made steps as a team with Mercedes to improve those, but Max Verstappen hasn't had an easy time with starts this season either in these new cars and so to have the two of them off the line with the fast Ferraris behind you felt could Lewis get this so I was yeah I was gutted that Max didn't get off the line I think he got off the line pretty well in Canada I think we could have seen the same again I really wanted to see that battle down into turn one and then yeah whether he could have just put the pressure on Kimi forced a mistake maybe it didn't feel like Kimi was going to make a mistake today though he was inch perfect everywhere wasn't he we've mentioned reliability it feels a race doesn't go by without us talking about McLaren's lack of reliability I mean neither car made it to the start back in China and then of course Lando Norris had his DNF he didn't finish today I mean okay Piastri ended up P4 but it was just they were a little bit off all weekend whether it's reliability whether it was pace Lawrence on the pace front were you were you surprised did you expect more from McLaren
42:11Lawrence Barretto:well if you talk to the team ahead of this weekend they would tell you that actually they didn't expect much more than they got they were expecting a more difficult weekend but I think what we are seeing of McLaren here and in the last race particularly in Canada as well it's very unlike the McLaren that we've become used to since 2023 they normally bring an upgrade it delivers a percentage of time and they move forward whereas they brought this upgrade package to canada they took the front wing off they tried it again here they took it off the upgrade didn't deliver the step that they hoped in canada they've come here and it does feel like they're just chasing it a little bit because obviously they came into the season with an underdeveloped car so they already knew that they were on the back foot and i think in their strategy to chase i think they've maybe not been able to get the most out of the package that they've brought as quickly as possible in the same way that obviously Mercedes and Ferrari have managed to do it and then you've always got Red Bull in the background randomly bringing bits and pieces that allow them for example this weekend to get themselves in the mix you know so I think I don't think McLaren will be surprised at where they were but I think they'll be surprised at how far off they were and I do think that the number of reliability issues that are happening now and the fact that they are mostly different will become a concern if it continues in this way.
43:29Because Norris parked up in FP2, didn't he? And they changed the energy store, the battery within his allocation. So you're also getting to a point where if they're continuing to have these reliability problems, eventually we're going to see grid penalties for taking parts out of allocation. Oh, maths. We've got 16 races to go this season. That's a long way to go to start thinking and talking about grid penalties. But actually, if you also look, George had an issue, obviously, in Canada. Norris had an issue here and in Canada. Are there then questions with the Mercedes power units, the Mercedes-powered cars as well?
44:06Does it raise questions around reliability across the grid, if it's across two different teams of the Mercedes PU? I don't know. Laurie, your first time on the show this year, because you've been busy being a mum, I would love to get your thoughts on Lando Norris. Do you see, just in the two races since you've been back, Do you see a different Lando since he became world champion? More relaxed? More relaxed, for sure he's more relaxed. I think the highs and lows probably feel a little less high and a little less low. So where in a title fight or in an era in which he was chasing wins or chasing that first title, two weekends on the bounce like this would have felt horrible.
44:51He can take it on the chin because no one can ever take away from him the fact that he's a world champion. And so I do think there's an element that, yes, he'll be gutted. He's still going to be hungry, absolutely. I don't think he'd be turning up and doing this if he still didn't want it. But there is probably a contentment within him knowing that he is a world champion. It's still so fresh as well. He's achieved his lifetime ambition and everything else is a bonus. I have questioned, generally, as I've sat at home watching with my baby, the mentality to come back after doing just that. You've achieved your lifelong ambition and you've got to rock up in testing in Barcelona in a brand new car and do it again.
45:41I wonder how drivers who have gone to the absolute limit, the way we saw those three go to the limit in Abu Dhabi, one gets over the line. how do you motivate yourself again? where does the hunger come from? does it come from the fact that you're world champion and that you feel unbeatable you're motivated to win the way that we know Max Verstappen is for example I'm sure it comes from somewhere within Lando but I just question how difficult that may be for some drivers or not
46:10Lawrence Barretto:I compare Lando to say Nico Rosberg Nico Rosberg had that really tough year that battle with Lewis to eventually win the world title in 2016 but he had obviously gone through a long period of time of never being able to do it. And I think at that point he realised, OK, that's where my level is, I guess. And then with Lando, I imagine he would have had that conversation with himself over the winter and has come back and gone, actually, no, I still quite fancy this because I think he's definitely not a driver that would hang about. Like, I just think he's got so much going on in his life. He's got so many projects or things he wants to try that I think if he didn't genuinely believe or get himself going again to go and have another tilt at it.
46:50Lawrence Barretto:I just don't think he would bother. So I think while actually what's become of Lando is that contentment's going to make him a more potent force going forward. And I think that we probably won't see that so much this year just because of the natural pecking order that we're seeing. But I think that contentment that Laura really eloquently described is actually going to make him a great driver for the next 10 years. And I think that's what is quite exciting about the future. If we see Kimi coming through, if McLaren do develop, which I'm sure they will do, a car that will be able to fight for wins, if Lewis is kind of fighting back as well, if Charles gets his mojo back, if George finds it, and Max at Red Bull, we can have a really cool fight at the end of this year.
47:30Lawrence Barretto:And we've got hungry drivers who want to kind of stamp their authority on it. I think there'll be individual races. Dealing with McLaren, I feel they've hemorrhaged too many points to think about winning the Constructors' Championship this year. I feel that they're too far back. what are they 118 to mercedes 244 but i feel everyone will be chasing a win towards the end yeah so i think each race will become a world cup exactly world cup final and i love that analogy because then it just every every race feels kind of all or nothing for for these drivers and that's that's wonderful for us isn't it uh look final thing driver of the day i mean there's a few we haven't mentioned as well i'm thinking of double points for racing bulls okay we touched on them having their swim earlier but you know lawson and linblad p5 p6 both career bests uh gasly in the points again for for alpine with p7 him furious of course because of the the pit lane speeding albon ocon in the points alonso getting that first point for aston martin as well i mean there are so many storylines actually is what we were saying wasn't it right at the top of the show but right driver of the day, Laura, welcome back.
48:38Who is it for you? Is it one of the people lower down in the points or is it perhaps someone we've been eulogising about? Gosh, can I be really obvious? It's so hard to look past him. Sorry, Lawrence. It's going to have to be Kimi Antonelli.
48:53Lawrence Barretto:You don't have to say sorry to me. Well, you have to go second and I've taken Kimi. But he's made history around Monaco. Fifth win on the bounce. He's just operating at a level that we have not seen you know we're talking about generational talent and we're six races into the season it has to be him i think it's perfectly acceptable for us to all agree to be honest because i think because i think to your to your point the performance he's delivered this weekend is not the kind of thing we're going to see at monica every year or nor is it going to be the kind of thing that we'll see at many race weekends this year where it's that perfect combination of kimmy being on another planet and able to deliver that kind of performance and there were phases in that race where I think you mentioned right at the beginning Tom he was 1.5 seconds to 2 seconds quicker probably not even pushing still because he will always drive within a margin because I think he's sensible enough to know that he can't bin it.
49:49Lawrence Barretto:So because that was the other thing is Kimi never really went up against the barriers like he never really pushed the limit and I think that's another growth point thrown in right at the end and I think that's why this weekend was so special so yeah easy hey let's all agree Kimi Antonelli was the driver of the day you know in Monaco he's just getting better and better every weekend I feel yet that was that they're just little things that he does better every single weekend and it's now five in a row people listening to this don't want agreement the whole time let's do a sort of mention in dispatches right we all agree that Kimi Antonelli was the driver of the day.
50:27Let's now each name a driver who impressed us who's not Kimi Antonelli. I'm going to say Isaac Hadja and not just because we are on the Red Bull Energy Station and I feel we'd have to run off if we don't mention him but because he dealt with a car that was seemingly getting more and more difficult to drive around one of the circuits that is the most demanding for drivers to drive. He crashed, came back from that, kept a level head through into qualifying qualified well yeah he's a cadger podium in monaco that is so so special well done to him i'm gonna
51:01Lawrence Barretto:go a bit left field and i'm gonna say check out now i know he has lost the point that would have been cadillac's first point but i think he's really just generally impressed me so far this year and even from that phase on friday where he was 13th 14th in practice in a cadillac you know i think the the performance he delivered i know he made a couple of mistakes today where you know parked up in the wrong grid box but I think he put himself in the mix and that's exactly what Cadillac you know brought him back to the sport for and I think that he's exactly the kind of driver that they're going to want going forward so I think really good job from him not just today but the whole weekend.
51:35Are you surprised by the gap between Jaco Perez and Valtteri Bottas this year?
51:39Lawrence Barretto:I think on paper the gap looks big but I think if you talk to people in the team if you talk to Dan Tarris to Graeme Loudon they'll tell you that both of them are doing a really good job they're doing the kind of thing that they wanted from experienced drivers. And I think maybe Valtteri just hasn't maybe had the rub of the green. I probably am a little bit more surprised that Perez has had the edge, given that Valtteri was around with Mercedes as a reserve last year. He did a bit of driving, whereas Checo went on holiday to Africa with his family, had a year off and kind of really took his foot off the gas and had to get back in the gym.
52:09Lawrence Barretto:But then it makes me really think about, well, what kind of Checo did we see at Red Bull? And actually, was there the Checo of when he finished running up? and is that who the real checker is? So I think it's great we've got another shot at looking at him and I'm still waiting and going to give Valtteri more time to settle into clearly a car that is taking time to get the best out of. They've had so many niggles, haven't they, that you'd expect a new team to have. So let's give him more time but I'm loving the checker that we're seeing right now. And I'm going to say Liam Lawson. I love watching him in quali.
52:40You don't drive sideways around Monaco but he proved that you can. and you know he put it P10 on the grid and he's gone and got that P5 in the race equaling his best from Baku last year so it's really you know let's not forget that you only have to go back 18 months or less actually to you know Liam having that horrible time at the start of last year promoted to Red Bull then two races later you know he he's pushed back to to racing bulls and the way he's bounced back from that hasn't let it, I'm sure there's been dark moments, but hasn't let it get to him and I feel he's just proving what I think Helmut Marko saw him in back in the day, that he is a seriously good racing driver and what he did in Monaco this weekend proved that.
53:31Well guys, thank you. Before we go, while we've had a great weekend of drama on the streets of Monaco, we've also had the very exciting news that we're going to continue racing at another street circuit for a long, long time to come. That's because it's been announced that Formula One will continue racing in Las Vegas through to 2037 after a 10-year extension has been agreed. I mean, there are a lot of long deals in Formula One, but Vegas, baby. I mean how excited are we by not only the length of the agreement but I feel Vegas is becoming a
54:09Lawrence Barretto:modern day classic great news here oh great news and it's incredible that we're saying that after only three races right that they've hosted there but I think what is exciting about that is we've had three great races at that track it is a proper racing track that is entertaining for multiple reasons and I think that's why it's great that they've got this long deal because it means they They can invest in the infrastructure. They can kind of invest in innovation. They can make this event even better. And like they always say, don't they, Las Vegas is a sport and entertainment capital of the world.
54:37Lawrence Barretto:And they've delivered that so far. So I think to have those kind of races on the calendar is a great thing for Formula One. And year on year, the action on track has been amazing. But it also is getting better and better and better as an event as well. They've shifted the schedule. and now it just felt last season like the perfect backdrop for the end of season drama that we saw, the fight that we saw, the drama of the McLaren disqualification and it just looks incredible, doesn't it, under the lights? You can't deny it. So yeah, roll on Las Vegas for the next 11 years. Well guys, thank you very much.
55:12Wonderful to have you both on the show. Loved it, thanks for having us. Thank you so much. Great, and for more reaction and analysis from here in Monaco, So please go to F1.com, the official F1 app, and at F1 on social media. And do check out F1's other official podcasts as well. My guest this week on F1 Beyond the Grid is Alex Albon, as he prepares to surpass Nigel Mansell as the driver with the most race starts in Williams history. That's out on Wednesday on the Beyond the Grid feed, and you can watch our chat on the F1 YouTube channel as well. and F1 TV lead commentator Alex Jakes is answering your questions on the latest F1 Explains podcast.
55:51That's just below this show on the F1 Nation feed. So thanks very much for listening. We'll be back on Thursday to preview the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. But for now, F1 Nation is produced by Formula One and Audioboom Studios.
56:14Thank you.
From the publisher
Tom Clarkson is joined in the Monte Carlo paddock by F1TV lead presenter Laura Winter and F1 correspondent Lawrence Barretto to dissect a dramatic Monaco Grand Prix.
Kimi Antonelli secured his fifth win in a row, extending his championship lead to 66 points. What did we learn about Kimi this weekend? And is he proving to be a ‘generational talent’?
On the other side of the Mercedes garage, a drive-through penalty left George Russell out of the points. He says he’s ‘bamboozled’ by his recent struggles. So what’s going wrong for George? Where does he go from here? And is he fighting for more than just the title now?
Ferrari also endured mixed fortunes in Monaco. Lewis Hamilton scored his second P2 in a row, while Charles Leclerc crashed out late in the race. The guys discuss why Lewis is starting to gain momentum in the team and the ‘emotional rollercoaster’ Charles is currently riding, after announcing a new multi-year deal with Ferrari.
Also on the agenda, Isack Hadjar’s first podium for Red Bull, Max Verstappen’s retirement on lap 1 and more reliability concerns for McLaren.
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